There is white smoke rising over the polls, for little Jesuit Gonzaga University, with less than 5,000 undergraduates, is the new No. 1 in all of college basketball.

DeFord also offered some history of Catholic universities and their sports involvement — the Spokane-based Gonzaga is a Jesuit college. In a commentary titled, “Catholic Universities See True Path To Salvation: Basketball,” he noted that basketball programs are a more common sport for these institutions because they cost less to run.

It also makes sense that we raise our profile. We are the largest independent university in the Northwest, the most comprehensive, the most metropolitan and the most diverse large university. We have an outstanding commitment to academic quality in line with our strong Catholic-Jesuit mission.

A high-profile sports program will help spread the word about our other programs, providing a window into our university. It will be a tide that raises all boats, bringing our mission, academic programs and commitment to service to the attention of more students and supporters.